Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite
by Eshiko
Summary: Inuyasha comes to Kagome's house to take her back in the middle of the night. From there her night goes from bad, to worse, to intolerable.


Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite

By Eshiko

Disclaimer: No Shippous were harmed in the making of this fic.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Let's go Kagome."

Kagome groaned and burrowed herself under her covers. After three arguments and two osuwaris, Inuyasha had finally agreed to let her go home until morning. Kagome flew off on Kirara and hurried back towards the well before Inuyasha could change his mind. She came home, ate dinner, and packed some much-needed supplies into her book bag.

Her yellow backpack and several bags sat at the foot of her bed. Kagome planned to wake up a few minutes before dawn and go back through the well and surprise Inuyasha. If she timed it just right, then maybe they would pass each other in the well and she could wave as she went by.

Getting up early would be worth it just so she could see the surprised look on his face. Now, if her mind would stop placing Inuyasha in her dreams, then she'd be fine.

"Oi Kagome." Inuyasha shook Kagome lightly on the shoulder. She swatted his hand away and buried herself completely beneath her blankets.

Inuyasha's left ear flickered in annoyance. He reached down and yanked the covers off of the bed.

The abrupt chill caused Kagome to send a hand questing for her blanket. She opened her eyes partially and looked around the room.

A pair of golden eyes stared back at her in the darkness.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, her voice tinged with a tone of disbelief. Her eyes opened wider and she glanced down towards her legs, which her nightshirt didn't even begin to cover. She couldn't see much in the dark, but Inuyasha could.

"OSUWARI!"

Inuyasha hit the floor and came up swearing. "What was that for? It's time to go back."

Kagome sighed and massaged her forehead in frustration. Now was not the best time for her to deal with Inuyasha. She wrapped herself up in a blanket and switched her lamp on. "It's still dark outside." Kagome pointed at her open window. "We agreed I'd come back in the morning."

"Keh." Inuyasha crossed his arms in front of his chest and gave her a look that a mother would give to a small child when explaining a difficult concept. "It is morning."

"What makes you think its morning?" Kagome couldn't wait to hear _this _explanation.

Inuyasha smiled. His eyes showed a joyful gleam of triumph that Kagome had only seen a few times; like right after she unpinned him from the Goshinboku or immediately after he learned how to perform the Bakuryuuha. It was a look Inuyasha wore only when he _knew _he was right. Kagome scooted back on her bed. She didn't like that look at all. Not one bit.

Inuyasha held up a watch that Souta had given to him the last time he visited. "It's 12:02." 

Kagome looked at her alarm clock and confirmed that it did indeed say 12:02 AM. She cursed Souta for giving Inuyasha the watch and she cursed herself for teaching Inuyasha how to tell time. She remembered their argument over how it could be morning when it was still dark.

"Kagome, you didn't tell us Inuyasha was coming."

Kagome looked up at her mother's voice and saw her family framed in her doorway. She glanced back at Inuyasha, unsure of what to say. "Well, Mama-"

"Inuyasha onii-chan." Souta pushed his way through the doorway and hurtled towards Inuyasha. "Are you spending the night? You can stay in my room. We can play video games and-"

All thoughts Kagome had of trying to convince Inuyasha to let her stay until morning fled her mind. Who knew what else Souta would teach Inuyasha about if he spent the night? Souta might tell Inuyasha that it was okay for her to flunk, and that she could always take classes next year. Or what if he told him about summer vacation. Inuyasha would expect her to stay in the past the entire time, just because she didn't have any tests.

"Sorry Souta, but we need to get back immediately."

Souta's face drooped and he looked down at Inuyasha's feet. "Can't you stay, just for a little while?"

"Souta, Kagome will need time to pack. Why don't you take Inuyasha downstairs and show him your new video game?" Souta brightened up and dragged a protesting Inuyasha from the room. Mrs. Higurashi herded ji-chan from the room and gave Kagome a quick smile before she shut the door behind her.

"Why me?" Kagome muttered as she fell back to her bed. Her pillow felt _sooooo _comfortable. She should be able to go back to bed and forget all about Inuyasha. "Why can't I have one night with my family? " Kagome sighed and shook her head. If she didn't hurry, then Inuyasha would be back up here. He probably wouldn't even give her time to change out of her pajamas. No that jerk would just pick her up, jump out the window, and drag her back through the well. With that thought in mind, Kagome changed quickly and gathered her bags.

She collected Inuyasha from Souta's clutches and made her way to the well hauling several bags of stuff. Inuyasha took the bags away from her and hefted them with one arm. He paused at the lip of the well and looked at her. "What's wrong Kagome?".

"Nothing Inuyasha." She hopped into the well and let the comforting blue light engulf her.

Inuyasha gave Kagome enough time to drop the majority of her bags off at Kaede's, but when she started to take off her book bag so she could pull her sleeping bag out Inuyasha shook his head. "Baka, do you think I'd bring you back here just to fall asleep again?" He dragged her out of the hut and pulled her onto his back before Kagome could say anything.

Kagome tried to hang on while Inuyasha took off at a breakneck speed straight towards a heavy area of twisted branches. She hid her head in Inuyasha's haori and prepared for the inevitable crash. Her stomach lurched when Inuyasha leaped over the brush and landed about fifty meters away. Kagome's stomach settled when Inuyasha reached flat ground and began a steady running stride.

"Inuyasha, why did you bring me back?"

Inuyasha's ears flickered back at the sound of Kagome's voice, but he didn't respond. When Kagome asked the question again, Inuyasha's ears flattened against his head and he ran even faster which caused Kagome to bounce jerkily on his back from the unsteady stride. It was enough to render Kagome speechless because she was too busy trying to hang on. 

After several minutes, Inuyasha's pace grew steady again. Kagome understood the unspoken message. Inuyasha didn't want to talk. She considered sitting Inuyasha, but decided it wouldn't be worth it. This was one situation where the rules of physics applied. It created a rather nice story problem if you thought about it. An object in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by another force. So Inuyasha would fall straight down, slam into the ground, and probably create a nice Inuyasha-sized crater. She on the other hand would go flying off his back and continue in the same direction until gravity kicked in. Which meant that she would hit the ground at an even greater velocity then Inuyasha and probably end up breaking several bones in the process. No, definitely not worth it.

Kagome sighed heavily, she hated physics. She could travel backwards in time, something that should technically be impossible. But she couldn't defy the law of gravity. Kagome yawned. She desperately needed sleep. Who knew what her tired brain would make her think of next?

"Inuyasha, what if I forgot something important?" Kagome asked the question in a rush, not wanting to give Inuyasha enough time to start running faster.

Inuyasha skidded to a halt. "You didn't bring the ramen?"

Kagome's eyes flamed red. "IN-U-YA-SHA Osuw-"

__

"Oh shit." Inuyasha thought. He knew Kagome's, "I'm upset and you get to pay the consequences my little hanyou," tone all too well. Couldn't she trust him enough to realize that he had a good reason for not wanting her to talk? He'd sworn that he wouldn't stop for anything. But it was RAMEN. How could she forget the ramen? 

Kagome was on the third syllable of the sit command. Inuyasha flipped. It was the only thing he could think of to do. The flip was a rather nice no handed, front flip. He made sure to hold onto Kagome very tightly. The change in vertigo was enough to shut her up again and Inuyasha settled back into his bounce- run before Kagome realized what he was doing.

After several hours Inuyasha began to slow down. "We're almost there."

Kagome raised her head up and blinked her eyes open. She looked over Inuyasha's shoulder. Up ahead she saw the cheery glow of a campfire. Maybe now Inuyasha would let her rest. The first thing she would do would be to find a big tree. She would then hold onto that tree until the ground stopped moving and her stomach settled down. Right now her stomach felt too horrid for her to even think about doing anything else. Inuyasha, torturer that he was, knew just the right pace to make her stomach queasy. She felt like she was going to throw up, but she never did

Inuyasha plopped Kagome down on top of a large, blanket-covered lump. He covered her mouth with his hand and kicked the form beneath the bedding. "How can you sleep bouzo? You were supposed to stay awake so you could heal Kagome right when we came back."  


Miroku sat up and opened his eyes to half-slits. "What?" The word came out in a slur. His eyes snapped open when he realized that Kagome was sitting in his lap. A smile spread on his face when he saw a very delectable piece of her anatomy was mere inches from his left hand. He took full advantage. 

Kagome kicked Miroku with both feet in an attempt to escape. Her book bag slipped off her shoulders and fell to the ground. She bit Inuyasha's hand and she crawled straight for a nearby clump of bushes when he released her. The sound of retching filled the night air. _"I have HAD it." _ Kagome thought. She finished emptying her stomach and sat there in silence for several minutes. Nothing made sense. The only explanation was that this was a nightmare. Inuyasha would never act so irrationally; at least she didn't think so. She wasn't sure about anything. A sob worked its way up from her chest and radiated outwards.

The sound of the quietly sobbing girl woke the two youkai in the camp.

"KAGOME!!!!!" Shippou dropped down from a tree branch and clung tightly to her arm. He tried to rouse Kagome from her catatonic state, but she didn't respond. She only cried more. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. " He glared at the hanyou. "Inuyasha, I told you to bring her back and be careful. Not to make her sick."

"You WHAT?" Inuyasha roared. A light of understanding flickered in his eyes and he came towards Shippou with a grim look on his face and clenched fists. " Miroku told me she was gonna die."

The camp erupted into confusion. Miroku protested that he never told Inuyasha anything like that. Inuyasha stood in front of Kagome not sure whether to comfort her or pound Shippou. Kirara shifted into her firecat form and took to the air growling. The cacophony was finally enough to awaken Sango.

She sat up and yelled one word. "Quiet." It silenced everyone except for Kagome. Sango slipped from underneath her covers and came to Kagome's side. She gathered Kagome into her arms and rocked her gently. Kagome burrowed her head into Sango's shoulder much like a child in desperate need of a Mother's comfort.

"Inuyasha." Sango kept her voice low with the hint of a lullaby in her tone. She murmured the words in rhythm with her rocking. "You and houshi-sama need to leave camp until I calm her down. We'll sort everything out later." Kirara came near and nuzzled Kagome's neck. "Kirara, you take care of Shippou."

A weak mewl of protest came from Shippou, but Kirara cut him off by picking him up by the scruff of his neck and carrying him away like a kitten. Kirara took him to a nearby steam and opened her jaw. Shippou fell into the water and came up sputtering in protest.

Miroku looked at how easily Kirara handled Shippou and wished to be able to do the same with Inuyasha. The hanyou was not cooperating. Currently, Miroku had him in a headlock and he'd managed to stuff a portion of his blanket in Inuyasha's mouth to cut off the stem of swear words. 

"I'm sure it won't take that long for Sango to calm her down. We can come back then."

Inuyasha growled at Miroku.

"Inuyasha?!" Kagome's voice was tinged with shock.

The hanyou stopped struggling.

Kagome looked at the scene before her in disbelief. Miroku-sama was half-undressed and he was straddling Inuyasha. With how much Miroku chased women, he couldn't be gay. Could he? Well, in all actuality..... Kagome thought about it for a moment. That might make sense. Miroku groped tons of women and asked all of them to bear his children. She'd been there when some had said yes, but Miroku didn't have any children. Ergo there was only one option left.

"Sango-chan, I have a headache. Tell them to go away." Kagome didn't even want to think what Inuyasha's part in that little scene was.

Inuyasha stood and brushed himself off. Miroku lay on the ground with his hand and feet tied together with shredded pieces of his blanket. All Inuyasha had to do was deal with Shippou and then hope that Kagome didn't sit him before he had a chance to explain.

Shippou saw Inuyasha coming and he ran as fast as his four paws would carry him in the other direction. He didn't take into account the speed of the enraged hanyou.

When Inuyasha judged them far enough away from the campsite for Kagome's range of hearing. He reached out and grabbed Shippou by the tail. "Why did you impersonate Miroku?"

"I didn't mean to, I had a nightmare. I wanted Kagome back."

Inuyasha proceeded to bob Shippou on the head. He enunciated each bop with a promise of a much worse retribution if he ever caught Shippou doing it again. They returned to the camp an hour later.

"I think we should leave him like this Kagome-chan. He'll get in less trouble." 

Miroku lay on the ground with one hand free and with telltale red imprints from Sango and Kagome's hands on his face.

Inuyasha nudged Shippou with his foot. "Apologize."

Shippou sighed and nodded. He pulled a leaf from his vest and transformed into Miroku with a poof of blue fire. "Kagome-sama. I'm sorry for being an absolute and complete idiot and for telling Inuyasha that you would die if he didn't bring you back here by sunrise." Shippou looked towards Inuyasha. They had practiced the exact words that he had to say in apology and what would happen if he didn't. Shippou hadn't remembered them though; all he could recall was that it had a lot of words like the grand and glorious Inuyasha.

Kagome turned and glanced at Miroku, she looked back at the ground where Miroku lay and then she looked back up at the other one. Good gods, the world did not need two perverted houshis, one was more than enough. Sango watched Kagome turn pale. She followed Kagome's gaze and did a double take.

"That's enough." Inuyasha bobbed Shippou/Miroku on the head once more.

Shippou took the hint. He transformed back to his kitsune self. Tears shone in his eyes and he flung himself at Kagome. "It was my fault." Between sobs and gulps Shippou explained that he had impersonated Miroku and warned Inuyasha of immediate doom and death on Kagome's part if Inuyasha didn't bring her back immediately so he could heal her. The cause of the entire fiasco was a nightmare he had about his father.

Inuyasha watched in disbelief as Kagome hugged Shippou and told him that everything was okay. Inuyasha knew that if Shippou hadn't explained, then Kagome would sit him about umpteen billion times. All the kit had to do was turn on a few tears and he got a pat on the head and a bar of chocolate as a reward. Inuyasha stalked away, grumbling under his breath. He jumped to the low branch of a tree and began sulking.

Kagome stretched and yawned. "I need to get some sleep." She left Sango to deal with Miroku and went to stand under Inuyasha's branch. "I'm sorry Inuyasha."

Inuyasha keh'd and pretended to ignore her. Kagome sighed, that would probably be the only response she got. Well, maybe he would notice when she didn't sit him for the next three days. And if you thought about it, it was nice that Inuyasha didn't want her to die. He could have handled it better, but it did show that he had some feelings for her. A fierce sense of protection, loyalty, friendship, maybe even a hint of love. "Thank you for caring." She whispered the words under her breath and didn't see Inuyasha's ears twitch in response or the smile that came to his lips.

Her book bag lay right to the side of Miroku's bedding. Miroku and Sango had both gone back to bed. Sango was sleeping quietly on the other side of the fire and it looked like Miroku was asleep as well. That presented Kagome with a problem. Did she believe that he was asleep or not? "Miroku-sama?"

Miroku's eyes opened and he grinned at the young miko. "Yes Kagome-sama."

"I need my book bag."

The houshi sighed at the missed opportunity. If Kagome had simply bent down and grabbed her book bag, then that would leave him free to grope. However, she'd _asked_ him for her book bag and he knew that meant that she didn't want to be groped. His morals would not let him take advantage of the situation. 

Sometimes it hurt to be so godlike.

Added to this decision was the fact that Kagome had a look on her face that clearly said "don't touch me or Sango will be the least of your worries." Sango had sat up at Kagome's approach to him and she'd pulled Hiraikotsu out and was poised to strike if he took even one misstep. When Miroku hesitated. Inuyasha jumped down from the tree and unsheathed Tetsaiga. Miroku sighed, life was unfair. He looked up at Kagome innocently. She'd been so focused on him, that she hadn't noticed the others reactions.

"Of course Kagome-sama." He reached to his far side and picked up the book bag and handed it to her. He watched her turn and walk back towards Inuyasha's tree. Inuyasha was already back in his branch with a sheathed sword and his normal grumpy expression on his face.

Kagome pulled out her sleeping bag and pillow and situated them to her satisfaction. She didn't have the energy to change into her pajamas so she left her clothes on except for her shoes and socks. Kagome picked Shippou up, settled both of them into her sleeping bag, and then she shut her eyes and waited for sleep to come.

Thirty minutes and twenty restless turnings later, Kagome stared up at the night sky and grumbled faintly. Why didn't Miroku manage to secure a night in a nice mansion before she'd left? She'd seen several choice villages that they could have stopped at when Kirara took her back to the well. Kagome reached up and pulled her covers closer around her. Nothing against the feudal age, but she was getting sick of constantly sleeping on the ground.

A silken thread floated down on the soft breeze and stuck itself to Kagome's wrist. Several more of the threads wrapped themselves around her neck and entwined themselves in her hair. Small spiders crept down the threads and bit gently into Kagome's skin. Their poison went to work numbing her limbs. Kagome fell into a deep slumber with a smile on her lips. Finally some sleep.

A large shadow-spider descended from the branches. She used her upper forearms to extricate the miko from her strange blanket. The spider youkai pulled Kagome closer and took a small bite of the girl's palm. Euphoria spread through her veins. 

"Excellent." The spider youkai thought. The girl's blood was full of power; it would help her to spawn strong offspring. The girl would need to be seasoned though; she was much too large. The youkai let her much stronger venom spread into the miko's veins. She finished wrapping Kagome up in her silken cocoon and carried the girl back towards her web.

Shippou finally noticed the absence of Kagome's warmth. He pulled himself from out of the sleeping bag and looked around. He brushed several sticky strings off of his clothing. Shippou stopped and pulled one of the strings closer and sniffed it. It was from a spider, but it had no scent? Panic swept through Shippou's system. A night spider? The species was known for their stealth due to the fact that their bodies had no traceable scent. They were also known for their love of human and youkai flesh.

"Inuyasha! Kagome's in trouble." Shippou raced off following the path of trailing silk threads.

At the sound of Shippou's voice, Inuyasha opened an eye and glanced around the camp. He didn't sense any danger. Kirara and the others were sleeping soundly. After Shippou's earlier antics, he was loath to believe the kit. He looked down at Kagome's sleeping bag. All he saw was a large Kagome-sized lump that was thoroughly swathed in blankets and the sleeping bag. The only danger Kagome looked to be in was the possibility of suffocating herself in her sleep. He settled back to sleep with the promise that he would take care of Shippou in the morning when Kagome was down at the hotsprings.

It was the muffled cry of "kitsune-bi" and the smell of charred youkai that convinced Inuyasha otherwise. Inuyasha jumped down to Kagome's sleeping bag and felt the lump of blankets. That's all there was, blankets. No kitsune and no Kagome.

"SANGO! MIROKU! Get up." Inuyasha tracked Shippou and Kagome's scents. He came to a small clearing. His eyes took in everything. Shippou was tangled up in a cobweb, helpless and asleep. Kagome, or what he assumed was Kagome, all he could see was a spider cocoon, hung from the branch of a nearby tree.

Shadows trailed along the edge of his vision. "So hanyou, you've come to save the miko." Darkness enveloped the clearing and Inuyasha felt a hundred hands against his skin. He looked down, but saw nothing.

A chittering filled the air. "It's too late, hanyou. I've already seasoned her; she won't live out the night." The feeling of wrongness shifted closer to Kagome and Inuyasha saw a black limb come from out of the mass of shadows and pet the cocoon lovingly. "I don't know how you and the kitsune managed to awaken from my venom, but it won't be of any use." The darkness massed together to form an eight-limbed monstrosity that Inuyasha could only assume was supposed to be a spider. 

The spider's face and form shifted from moment to moment. At first it was a beautiful woman's reminiscent of a many-handed goddess to feline features to a creature straight from the jaws of hell. Remnants from the world of dreams brought to life in a shadow avatar. The other noticeable aspect of the creature was her very gravid abdomen.

"What do you want baba?" Inuyasha tried to reach for Tetsusaiga, but the unseen hands prevented him.

Laughter echoed through the clearing. "Are you jealous hanyou? I was planning on eating you first before you brought this delectable morsel back." The spider nuzzled the cocoon for several moments and her face came away with pincers and mouth covered in blood.

A growl rumbled from Inuyasha's chest. Kagome's blood.

The spider continued to circle herself around the cocoon. "It's been so long since I've had someone to talk to. I don't think that I'll put you to sleep like the kitsune." The chittering continued and the shadows in the clearing began to pulse. "Soon my darlings." The youkai crooned. "We have to give her time to ripen, then we'll get you into your bodies."

The youkai looked at Inuyasha with a proud look in her eyes. "You're very lucky; my species doesn't let others see the birthing process very often. Not even the fathers, well, the fathers are too delicious to waste. But aren't my larvae beautiful? They can't wait to be born." 

Inuyasha looked at the spider and shook his head. "You're crazy baba."

A chittering laugh came from the shadows. The spider paused and for several moments her form didn't shift. "I suppose I am. It happens before the birthing you know. It helps me to deal with the pain. But if I'm half-mad, then what does that make you?"

The youkai ignored Inuyasha and concentrated back on Kagome's cocoon. Inuyasha flexed his hands and pushed very slowly against the shadows. The shadow larva didn't seem to notice the motion; they were too caught up in their mother's crazed crooning.

"Sankon Tetsusou." Inuyasha slashed through the darkness and went straight for the spider's abdomen. The shadow spider whisked behind the cocoon and Inuyasha readjusted his aim and shredded the cocoon to shreds. He grabbed Kagome and jumped back to the ground.

The spider shrieked and the shadows erupted into pandemonium. Inuyasha scored his skin and held up a blood drenched hand. "Hyujin Ketsusou." Red scythes of light rushed up towards where Shippou hung. They shredded through the spider web and Shippou fell to the ground.

Inuyasha threw Kagome over his shoulder and jumped to where Shippou lay and picked him up by the tail. He stuffed the kitsune into his haori and wished he could do the same with Kagome. _"I need a den or a cave."_ He looked around but couldn't see anything even close to. It wouldn't help him to have to fight the spider and her spawn while trying to juggle both Kagome and Shippou.

He looked at Kagome's legs and swore. She had several deep gashes and a dark shadow was attached to each of them like a horde of leeches. The shadows skittered across his neck and Inuyasha realized that they were feeding on his blood as well. He brushed at his neck and looked at the larva that he pulled away. The lumps of blackness were beginning to form small eyes and limbs.

It looked like all that the shadow larva needed was blood. He looked up at the spider's gravid form. All he would have was one shot. He drew Tetsusaiga with one hand and flung it straight at the spider's abdomen. The sword transformed and pierced the spider's flesh with a large squelch. White, gelatinous spheroids pored from the gaping wound and enveloped Inuyasha and the others.

"You idiot. They'll be uncontrollable now." 

The shadow larva swarmed to the white pupas. They seemed to consume each other; all that was left behind was a writhing mass of undifferentiated gray. The gray mass enveloped the shadow spider and ate away at her form like a swarm of acid.

Inuyasha jumped out of the mass into the relative safety of a tree branch. He hugged Kagome closely and checked to make sure that Shippou was still in his haori. They would be safe for a while; it would take the larva some time before they would be able to climb the tree. He put Kagome down and adjusted her form so that she wouldn't fall off the limb; he took Shippou and tucked him into Kagome's arms. He covered them both with his haori and patted the red cloth in satisfaction. They were as safe as he could make them.

The larva covered the ground and the upper part of the tree where the spider had been. Tetsusaiga was somewhere in the muddle of writhing bodies. Inuyasha jumped into the mass and began feeling around. He could feel Tetsusaiga pulsing in time with the sheathe, but it was muffled.

He reached his down into a particularly dark mass of lava. His hand closed around Tetsusaiga's hilt. Inuyasha willed Tetsusaiga to transform and he pulled it out from the spider spawn. Youki swirled around Tetsusaiga. Inuyasha arced the sword around his head slowly. "Kaze no Kizu." White light exploded outwards and enveloped a great majority of the spider larva.

Inuyasha sheathed Tetsusaiga and retrieved Kagome and Shippou. He could see the dark shadows at the edge of his vision, much like when he'd first entered the clearing. The only difference was that this time there were much less of the shadows. It was impossible to fight shadow spiders at this stage of their development. All they were right now were shadows with a small wisp of a body. The only time their bodies would be visible was if they gorged on a large amount of blood. He felt the spider's caution, but knew that their desire to feed would eventually overcome it.

He decided to return to camp.

Sango and Miroku still slept on unawares. Kirara opened her eyes and tried to rise at Inuyasha's return, but her sluggish limbs wouldn't agree.

He needed to do something. Inuyasha lay Kagome and Shippou down on the ground and then he began rooting around in Kagome's backpack. With all the amazing things Kagome had from her world, there would be _something_ there, there had to be.

In the end Inuyasha resorted to a mixture of a packet of herbs given to them by Jinengi, an energy drink that Kagome told him could wake the dead, and repeated dousings in a stream. He tested it out on Miroku first. After five dunkings, Miroku awakened.

"Inuyasha? Don't tell me you are still mad about earlier?"

"Keh." Inuyasha explained what had happened.

Miroku sat on the bank of the stream. "You're lucky to be alive. Shadow spiders are some of the most dangerous youkai. How many did you say were left?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "I'm not sure."

"We should give the others the herbs and go back to Kaede's."

Inuyasha nodded in agreement with Miroku's statement. "We won't be able to make it back tonight. I can't carry all of you and I don't think that Kirara will be able to help."

By the time they returned to the camp Shippou had reawakened and was in a panic. He looked at Inuyasha and Miroku with tears in his eyes. "She won't wake up."

Kirara meowed in agreement. She was standing over Sango's form and trying to awaken her mistress by butting her head against her mistress' cheek.

"Don't worry Shippou." Miroku pulled the packet of herbs from his robe. "We have a cure. I'll need a fire to brew the tea." 

Inuyasha raised his eyebrows in shock, when had the houshi been close enough to him to steal the herb packet. Shippou set to work rebuilding the dying fire and Inuyasha placed himself between the others and the shadow spider's nest.

They gave Kagome and Sango the tea and then gathered their things and left. Inuyasha carried Kagome in his arms and Shippou clung to his shoulder. Miroku held Sango and Kirara resided in her mistress' lap. Inuyasha set a fast pace in the direction of Kaede's village.

Kagome awoke to the dreaded rhythm of the bounce run. She felt the queasiness in her stomach. "Inuyasha." The word came out as a weak whine. "I don't feel good."

The hanyou stopped running and looked down into Kagome's face. "What can I get you?"

Shippou sat silently on Inuyasha's shoulder. He'd already been warned to not interfere when Kagome finally awakened. Inuyasha's words echoed in his mind. "You can act like a defenseless kit later. When Kagome wakes up we'll need to see what medicines she has from her world and we can't do that if you're smothering her."

"Get me?" Kagome looked at Inuyasha in surprise as he laid her gently, yes_ gently,_ down on the ground. Inuyasha pulled her book bag from off his back. 

"Your medicines, which will make you feel better."

"The pink one."

Inuyasha rooted through the backpack. He found the bottle and handed it to Kagome. Kagome pulled the small plastic cup off. She tried to untwist the cup, but found that her hands didn't want to agree with her. Inuyasha took the bottle and untwisted the cap and handed it back to her. Kagome poured the pink liquid into the cup and then drank the thick liquid in two gulps. She shuddered slightly at the taste. Her distaste stemmed from an event in her childhood where she'd had the flu and her mother made her take the medicine every four hours for a week straight. Right now, she was willing to do anything to get rid of her stomachache.

"Do you need anything else?"

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha in surprise. The hanyou was never this solicitous of her needs. "Where's Miroku-sama and Sango-chan?"

"They'll catch up."

"Oh." Kagome shut her eyes in concentration. Her stomach was taken care of and she should feel better soon, there was only one other thing she wanted right now. It was time to test how agreeable Inuyasha was. "Inuyasha, I'm tired. I want to sleep. No disturbances. No running and none of you saying that we have to leave or you complaining. Nothing. Just me, my blanket, and silence."

Inuyasha looked up at the sky. He'd been traveling for several hours already. They were quite close to Kaede's village, but the need to return wasn't so urgent now that Kagome was awake. He sniffed the air. The smell of the spider's venom was gone. All he could smell now was Kagome and her scent was strong with undertones of weariness.

"Fine."

Kagome sat there in shock. She didn't realize that Inuyasha had pulled a blanket from her backpack and picked her up. Shippou was down on the ground after being brushed off Inuyasha's shoulder. Inuyasha found a comfortable looking tree and jumped up to the highest branch. He sat down and settled Kagome into a comfortable position.

"What are you doing?" Kagome looked up at Inuyasha from where her head was resting in his lap.

"I'm letting you sleep. You said no disturbances; I'll make sure that happens."

Kagome wanted to protest, but Inuyasha covered her with the blanket and resituated himself so his lap was even more comfortable then her pillow. Protests and weariness warred for dominance in Kagome's mind. The weariness won out. Moments later she fell asleep.

Inuyasha waited until Miroku and Sango arrived. He told them that they were stopping there for the rest of the day. They didn't remark on the strangeness of his position, the fact that it was probably around high noon, or anything else. All they did was pull out of their bedrolls and fall to sleep.

Shippou settled on a surrogate Kagome, namely Kirara in her large firecat form, to sleep on. The group slept through the day and the remainder of the night. All slept deeply, including Inuyasha. He was tired and needed to recover from the spider venom in his system along with the low that came after using a ton of adrenaline.

No one stirred until early the next morning. Kagome shivered. She reached up and tried to pull her covers closer to her, but found that her covers were completely gone. Rough bark was all she was laying on. She remembered Inuyasha covering her with a blanket and telling her that he'd make sure no one disturbed her. It would be just like Inuyasha to be a blanket hog.

Kagome skittered around. She just couldn't get warm.

A leaf blew down from a nearby tree and covered Kagome. Kagome pulled the leaf closer and tried to settle down to sleep. It took her sleep fogged brain about two minutes to process the fact that she was using a leaf, not a blanket. First of all, leaves shouldn't be that large. Second, leaves weren't good blankets at all.

Kagome opened her eyes. The world came back to her multiplied hundreds of times. She screamed and pushed away. The leaf fluttered to the ground and Kagome plummeted after it. Luckily her instincts kicked in and she was flying.

The ground came up all too fast. Kagome shut her eyes and hoped that she landed safely. Once she landed Kagome kept her eyes closed and she reached her hands up to her face. Everything was fine if having four hands and a pointed nose was normal. Kagome reached her hands onto her back and felt a pair what had to be wings. Not bird wings with feathers, but more like a fly.

Kagome shook her head. She couldn't be a flea. It wasn't possible.

The sweetest scent came to her nose. Kagome looked up in the direction of the smell. Seeing the world in multiples threw off her sense of vertigo, but she was getting used to it. Inuyasha lay up there unawares. Her stomach rumbled and Inuyasha's blood smelled so sweet. Kagome squeaked when a breeze came by and blew her in the direction of Kirara. It was then that Kagome realized that she didn't have any clothing on. She looked around the camp. Her clothing lay in a heap nearby. She made her way over to it and tore a small patch of cloth from her shirt. The makeshift toga didn't look that great, but at least it covered everything.

Now to go about being discovered. Kagome ignored Kirara; she remembered what the neko youkai did whenever she found bugs in her fur. No, Kagome's target was Shippou. He was a youkai so he would have better hearing then the others and he was a lot easier to get to then Inuyasha.

She made her way to his ear and called out his name. Shippou didn't respond. Kagome yelled. Still no response. She crawled into his inner ear. "Shippou-chan, get up."

Shippou twitched his ears and flicked he across camp. Kagome tried to get both Miroku and Sango's attention, but got the same response. What was wrong? Myouga was a flea, everyone heard him just fine. Why couldn't they hear her?

Kagome shook her head in frustration. Her stomach grumbled again. "Be quiet. We'll eat later." She began the long trek up the tree. When she reached Inuyasha, she sat on the bridge of his nose and jumped up and down. "Inuyasha." He shook his head.

She went to his left ear and yelled his name. Inuyasha flicked his ear and tried to swat her away. "Leave me alone."

Oh well, there was nothing left to do. Kagome found the juiciest part of Inuyasha's chest and plunged her nose in and sucked blood. 

Inuyasha's eyes snapped open and he swatted at the bug on his chest. "I told you to leave me alone Myouga-jiji."

Kagome unsquished herself. "OSUWARI!" She yelled madly. This time Inuyasha heard her.

Inuyasha had no time to react; the rosary pulled him to the ground. He sat up in confusion and watched as a small flea flew down and landed on his nose.

He looked at the flea in confusion. "Kagome?"

~*~*~*~*~*~

Well, that didn't come out exactly as I expected it to. I've had this idea simmering for some time and I cobbled together different scenes from several of my stories that seemed out of place and they fit this story perfectly. To anyone who is going to complain about misspelling of some of the Japanese words and attacks. You are entitled to your opinion and I am entitled to mine. I researched each of the different variations and picked out the ones that I thought were closest to the original Japanese. You've read the story all the way through (at least I'm going to assume you did because you're reading this which is at the end of the chapter). So you enjoyed the fic, I enjoyed writing the fic, let's not ruin it by nitpicking. 

If there were any parts that were confusing, please point them out. I'll correct them. If there are any major deficiencies, again, point them out, they'll be corrected.

If you did enjoy it, then feel free to review. 

Oh and don't worry. The fluff will be coming and the plot will become even thicker.

Ja ne

Eshiko-chan


End file.
